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  Question 26. How is original sin transmitted from our ancestors to their descendants? Answer. Original sin is transmitted from our ancestors to their descendants by the natural method of reproduction, so all descendants born from our ancestors by the natural method of reproduction are conceived and born in sin.   Original sin is the desire to become like God. The first person to have this desire appears as Eve in the Garden of Eden. Eve is the symbol of the evil angels in the Kingdom of God. The angels who sinned in the Kingdom of God wanted to become like God, so they opposed God and left God, which is greed and sin. The content of Jude 1:6 and 2 Peter 2:4 is shown as a picture of the Garden of Eden.   Sin is the desire to be like God, and breaking God's commandments is the result of sin, and the result of sin is death. Those who think breaking the commandments is sin do not understand spiritual death. Sin did not begin in the world, but in the kingdom of God. ...

  Question 25. What consists in the sinfulness of the estate into which man fell? Answer. The sinfulness of the estate into which man fell consists in the guilt of Adam's first transgression, the want of righteousness in which he was created, and the corruption of his nature, which makes him utterly averse to all that is spiritually good, and incapable of doing good, but wholly and continually inclined to that which is evil; which is commonly called original sin, and from which all actual transgressions proceed. "Man, created in the image of God," was recreated as male and female, and when they sinned against God, the image of God disappeared. And deep in their hearts, the idol of greed took root. In Colossians 3:5, "Put to death, therefore, your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry." Greed clouds the conscience. So, we always try to show off ourselves with the desire to be li...

  Question 24. What is sin? Answer. Sin is the failure to obey or the transgression of the law of God, which is given as a law to rational creatures. Sin in doctrine is based on the law, so breaking God's command is called sin, but sin is the greed to become like God. Therefore, people commit sin because of that greed. Therefore, believers repent based on doctrine and the law. Believers examine whether or not they are sinning in light of the law and live their lives trying not to commit sin. Examining the problem of sin based on the law means that one becomes the subject, judges sin, and tries not to commit sin, so one becomes the master. Jesus told us to deny ourselves and take up our cross. The existence of ourselves means the body of sin (the physical body). It means that the body of sin that is ourselves dies and we are to receive the spiritual body that comes from heaven. The subject is not the physical self, but the spiritual mind led by the Holy Spirit. Romans 6:6-7,...

  Question 23. In what condition did this fall bring mankind? Answer. This fall brought mankind into a condition of sin and misery.   God has made all humans born into the world with sin repent and return to the kingdom of God, like the parable of the prodigal son. However, humans born into the world do not know God, and they live their lives as masters of the world, opposing God. The story of Noah's flood and the story of Sodom and Gomorrah tell us that humans are in such a miserable state that they deserve to die. The Bible tells us that all humans were destined to drown in the days of Noah. In 2 Peter 2:4-5, it says, "For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of darkness to be kept until the judgment; and if he did not spare the old world, but preserved Noah with eight others, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly." Peter connects the time of Noah with th...

  Question 22. Did all mankind fall together in that first sin? Answer. The covenant made with Adam as the representative of all mankind was not only for him but also for his descendants, so all mankind born from him by ordinary generation sinned together in Adam and fell together with him in his first sin. The first man is spoken of in Colossians 1:15: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation." This refers to Christ, and it tells us that Christ is the first man. The first man gave the body of sin to man and woman. Jesus' death on the cross signifies the death of the body of sin, and that is why he said, "It is finished," when he died on the cross. John 19:30 "When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, 'It is finished.' And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." The Bible says about baptism, Romans 6:6, "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done a...

  Question 21. Did our first ancestors retain the original position in which they were created? Answer. Our first ancestors, because of their freedom to do as they pleased, were tempted by Satan and transgressed God ’ s commandment by eating the forbidden fruit, thereby falling from the original position of innocence in which they were created.   Believers must know who the progenitor of all human beings living in the world is. Was it the first man or the man Adam and the woman Eve? First, in terms of the flesh, since the male Adam and female Eve were created separately from the first man, the physical ancestor of all people in the world is the first man. In terms of the relationship between the first man and the last man, the first man is the man before being divided into man and woman. Was the first man a man? The first man was Christ. Jesus was also conceived by the Holy Spirit. Was Jesus a man? That is why the Bible calls Jesus the Son of Man. The word “ incarnat...

  Question 20. What was God's providence regarding man's status after creation and before the fall? Answer. God's providence regarding man's status after creation and before the fall was to place man in paradise and let him cultivate it, to eat the fruits of the earth freely, to place other creatures under his rule, and to marry a companion to help him. He also gave man the opportunity to have communion with God Himself, instituted the Sabbath, and made a covenant of life with man on condition of perfect personal and eternal obedience, the pledge of which was the fruit of the tree of life, and to forbid eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon the penalty of death.   In Genesis (chapters 1-3), it is said that God created the heavens and the earth, and then created man, and created the Garden of Eden and placed him there. Genesis 2:7-8 "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; a...

  Question 19. What is God's providence toward the angels? Answer. God, by his providence, permitted some angels to fall into sin beyond redemption, and to be punished; and he punished and ordered all their sins, to the glory of God. The rest he made holy and happy, and used them as he pleased, to minister to his power, mercy, and justice.   God's providence for angels was that before the creation of the world, they were created to enjoy the blessing of eternal life by their own free will. Therefore, God rests, and angels always worship God, and they also enjoy rest under God's rule. The status of angels is under God's rule and to worship God. However, God's rest was broken because of the sinful angels. The sinful angels rejected God's rule. This can be found in Eve's eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because she wanted to become like God. Genesis 2:16-17 "And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tre...

  Question 18. What are the works of God's providence? Answer. God's works of providence are his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all things, and governing his creatures and their actions for his own glory.   God is spirit, which is the opposite of matter. All things refer to everything in the whole world, but the expression that God created all things was good is an expression that all things were created according to the plan established by God before the creation of the world, and does not mean that all things were good in the eyes of God. Therefore, the providential work of God is to make all people living in the world repent and return to the kingdom of God, not to make them live in this world forever. When the providential work of God is finished, God will judge this world with fire. 2 Peter 3:7 "But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved for fire against the day of judgment and destructi...

  Question 17. How did God create man? Answer. After God had made all other creatures, he created man male and female, the man's body made of the dust of the ground, and the woman from the man's rib. He gave them living, rational, and immortal souls. He created them in his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, and wrote his law in their hearts, and gave them control over the creatures, and the ability to keep his law, but he made them subject to corruption.   After God created all things, he formed them out of the dust of the ground and breathed into them the breath of life, and created man. Genesis 2:7 "God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being." In Genesis 1:27, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." The Bible speaks of the creation of the first man and the creation of man and woman. ...

  Question 16. How did God create angels? Answer. God created angels as spirits, immortal spirits, holy, excellent in knowledge, powerful, and made them to keep God ’ s commandments and praise His holy name, but subject to change.   Angels are spiritual beings. Therefore, they can be said to be immortal beings. Hebrews 1:14 "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?" Spiritual beings also have spiritual bodies. So angels also have spiritual bodies. 1 Corinthians 15:44 "It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body." In the Old Testament, Jehovah appeared to Abraham with his angels. Genesis 18:1-3 "Now the LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing opposite him. When he saw them, he ran to meet th...

  Question 15. What is the work of creation? Answer. The work of creation is that in the beginning God made the world and all things for himself by the word of his power out of nothing in six days, and all things were good. God created heaven and earth to confine the sinful angels. In the heaven and earth, God created light, water, firmament, grass, plants bearing seed, trees bearing fruit, lights in the sky, birds, sea creatures, and animals on the ground. He created man, and he created male and female. God rested after creating for seven days. Genesis 2:1-3 “ The heavens and the earth were finished, and all their host. On the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it he rested from all his work that God had done in creating. ” The Chabam translated as all things in Genesis 2:1 is an army. God created the heavens and the earth in s...

  Question 14. How does God carry out his decrees? Answer. God carries out his decrees in the works of creation and providence according to his absolutely certain foreknowledge and his free and unchangeable will.   God predestined Christ before the creation of the world, and He carries out His will according to His predestined plan. First, God created heaven and earth to confine the fallen angels to the material world, then He created man, and then He created man and woman through the first man, and then He chose the pioneers of faith after Adam to carry out His will. However, humans show that they are trying to pursue their own righteousness while ignoring God's will. So, through the flood of Noah, God showed that all humans are destined to die, and only saved Noah and his family of seven through the ark, which symbolizes Christ. After the flood of Noah, God chose Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Israel, and revealed His will to all the people of the world. However, when ...